


Diefenbaker to the Rescue

by china_shop



Series: Vehicle Deck series [2]
Category: Canadian Actor RPF, due South
Genre: Crack, Fic, M/M, Rescue, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-22
Updated: 2006-07-22
Packaged: 2017-10-13 04:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/132661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/china_shop/pseuds/china_shop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was full moon on the cruiseliner, and eerie lupine howls echoed up from the vehicle deck. Although Diefenbaker couldn't hear them, he could sense them with his mysterious animal senses, and they made the blood stir in his veins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diefenbaker to the Rescue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilac_one](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=lilac_one).



> Follows on from [A Tale of Inconceivable High-Falutin' Higgledy-Piggledy Doom](http://archiveofourown.org/works/132659).

It was full moon on the cruiseliner, and eerie lupine howls echoed up from the vehicle deck. Although Diefenbaker couldn't hear them, he could sense them with his mysterious animal senses, and they made the blood stir in his veins.

On top of that, Fraser was moping about losing his Ray, and Dief wanted to help but there was nothing he could do. He shook himself restlessly and raised his head to reply to the howls.

Fraser frowned at him. "Must you?"

But it was full moon: Dief was possessed by the ancestral wolf spirit! He ran to the door and barked sharply. _Let me out!_

Fraser sighed and unlatched the door, and Dief bounded out along the deck without looking back, a little moon-crazed and full of energy. For the first time in weeks he sought more than baked goods. Tonight he was looking for adventure.

He paused and bayed again, and distant voices called back. Hooooooooowl!

The hair rose on the back of Dief's neck and he raced forward till he came to the stairs that led down to the vehicle deck. It was dark down there and smelled of diesel and danger. Dief growled softly and waited to see if anything moved. Nothing did.

He put his paw on the top step and paused again, straining to see into the darkness, but there was nothing.

He went down, treading carefully, slinking in the shadows. The ground was wet and greasy, and threaded in amongst the sharp engine smells was the faintest hint of wolverine. Dief tensed when he recognized it and hoped he could manage to avoid the beast. Especially if it had a goiter.

At the bottom of the steps were a number of rickety old dogsleds, which Dief ignored, and then several jeeps and a familiar smelling humvee. Dief trotted past them, and followed his instincts toward a faint light glowing off to his right.

In the dark, wolves howled and the air shimmered disturbingly.

Dief growled low in his throat and felt his mouth run with saliva. Those were not the howls of friendly wolves. They felt wrong and stomach-twisting. A thud vibrated through the hollow ground, and someone yelled incoherently. Dief broke into a gallop and headed straight for the action.

He jumped over a green Buick Riviera, and then another identical one, and hurtled into the circle of light, which was caused by the moon shining brightly through a large porthole. Dief blinked, and quickly took in the scene around him. It was a wooded clearing, somehow contained within the vehicle deck. There was fresh snow on the ground mingling with the film of oil that covered everything. Strangely, it wasn't cold. Ray—very likely Fraser's Ray—was backed up against a tree, his eyes wide with fear. He was waving a stick but his panicky gesture looked more like he was offering a game of "fetch" than trying to keep his attackers at bay.

His attackers were two wolves, large and vicious. One was paler, leaner than the other. Both smelled strongly of moonlight, snow, and cigarette smoke.

Diefenbaker turned his back to Ray and bared his teeth at the wolves. Ray shouted behind him, but Dief couldn't hear the meaning.

The attacking wolves advanced slowly, their eyes fixed on Dief now. _Run,_ Dief tried to tell Ray silently, but Ray didn't speak wolf and could only understand him if they were facing each other and it was obvious what Dief was trying to say.

Dief sized up the two wolves and took a steady step forward, getting a sense of their status. The bigger wolf was stronger and more powerful, his jaws flexing threateningly, but Dief knew in his bones that the leaner paler one was alpha. He growled a warning— _Leave the human! He's mine!_ —and they panted at him, mocking.

He couldn't afford to let them mock him. He snarled and feinted toward the larger wolf, and then twisted in mid-air and pounced on the pale one, dragging him to the ground. They rolled, snapping and snarling, claws scrabbling to find purchase, and then the large one was upon them, too, and Dief tasted blood, felt the sting of teeth piercing his hide.

Everything blurred. Dief thrashed from side to side, trying to dislodge the large one's teeth from his hindquarters, kicking out at the paler one. He had to get the upper hand at once, he knew. He only had a few seconds before they'd overpower him.

The larger wolf loosened his grip, and Dief smelled victory and cuffed him on the side of his head, but the larger wolf shook that off without seeming to notice, and closed his jaws with a bone-breaking crunch on Dief's rear leg. Dief snarled helplessly and fell sideways, accidentally giving the pale wolf a glancing blow to his head. The large wolf smelled of fury, then, and snaked his head back and forth, tugging at the muscles and bones around Dief's wound.

Dief could feel blackness threatening to overtake him but he fought it off, knowing that he was Ray's last line of defence. He growled with determination and staggered upright, kicking out with his wounded leg and catching the large wolf on the chest. It was barely a hit, though, and probably hurt Dief more than his opponent. The pale lean wolf reared back on his hind legs, clearly about to lunge for Dief's neck and end it—

A long branch swung out of nowhere—fast—and knocked the pale wolf off-course. Before he could right himself, Ray had turned to the larger wolf. "You want a piece of me?" he said, cracking his neck. "Leave him out of it." He smelled of bravado and fear, but he hurled the branch like a spear through the air, hitting the large wolf on the chest.

"Quick!" yelled Ray.

 _Run!_ said Dief at the same time. They both looked around wildly for a refuge.

Ray saw it first; Dief a second later. They threw themselves as one toward the nearest Riviera, Dief limping as fast as his legs could carry him. For once the human was faster. Dief tried to spring through the window but misjudged the take-off and smacked his jaw on the door frame.

The lean wolf was prowling toward them, furious and unstoppable.

Ray dragged Dief sideways through the greasy snow and yanked the Riv's door open, then got his hands under him and heaved him inside. Dief didn't have time to get out of the way before Ray jumped in on top of him, hurting his broken leg.

Dief howled. The pale wolf, who'd been about to pounce, stopped to reply in kind.

Ray slammed the door shut, and wound the window up quickquickquick.

The pale wolf reared against the Riv's door, growling through the glass. Ray leaned across Dief to roll up the driver's side window. He locked both the doors and collapsed panting against the seatback.

The pale wolf wouldn't let them go so easy. He took a few angry paces back, then hurled himself at the Riv. The car shuddered like they were in a storm. The wolf fell back and then did it again.

The larger wolf came up behind him and howled, and the lean wolf snapped at the air crossly.

Dief watched them, hoping the Riv could withstand them both. Pain from his leg crept through him like ice breaking, making his muscles tremble.

The pale wolf took three paces forward and faced Dief directly through the glass. His eyes were strange—like a human's—and filled with confusion.

Dief panted at him, victorious, and then slipped away from the hurt and into throbbing darkness.

***

The earth moved under him. Dief blinked blearily. Thick pain flooded his body, had always been there, throbbing through him. His leg was on fire.

The earth was Ray, smelled good and safe spiced with the last traces of fear and new layers of sleep and thirst.

Dief scrambled upright, as much as he could, and looked out through the window. The first rays of dawn filtered through the porthole, illuminating the clearing. The trees were old—some dead. Dief hadn't had time to notice that the night before.

The wolves were gone. In their places lay two bare-skinned humans: one dark-haired, the other like a copy of Ray. Both of them bruised and bloody, lying sleeping. Dief yelped and scratched at the doorhandle, and Ray woke up enough to unlock the door. "Do what you gotta do, buddy."

He curled onto his side and went back to sleep.

Dief stepped down gingerly. His leg wasn't good, maybe broken twice. He limped on three legs toward the pair and nosed at them. Definitely humans, but there on the pale one's cheek was a scratch from Dief's own claw, and the dark one had a large purple bruise in the center of his chest from Ray's spear-branch. They were covered in other scratches and bruises, too. Wolf-humans. Part and part. Like Dief but not like him, since his other part was dog and was there all the time. Dief was still trying to puzzle it out when they woke up.

The dark one shouted when he saw him. "Fuck! Ow! Callum? There's a fucking wolf sniffing your ass!"

The one like Ray rolled over, making a hurt face. "Shut up, shut up! I've got—Jesus, not just a headache! My arm! What the fuck happened? Draco? Is that you?"

Dief barked, _No._

"See, it's not a wolf. It's a dog. Jesus! What did you do to me?" The one like Ray sat up and glared at the dark one. "Did we fight? Why don't I remember?"

"How would I know?" The dark one clambered stiffly to his feet and rubbed the bruise on his chest. He didn't seem to care about being bare-skinned. "Maybe someone robbed us and took all our clothes. Come on! Get up!"

"Stop being an asshole. I fucking _hurt_!" The one like Ray flopped back on the ground. It was like snow, but not cold. Dief didn't understand that either.

"Come on, Call-um! I've got a first aid kit in the van, not to mention clothes." He pointed at the one like Ray and smirked. "That scratch suits you. You should always have one."

The one like Ray smacked the other's leg. "It's barely daylight! Why're you being such a fucking asshole?"

"You can't expect me to believe you're surprised that I'm a dick." The dark one grinned and rolled his shoulders. "Feels like it was a good fight. I haven't felt this banged up since I got clean."

The one like Ray narrowed his eyes but then the lean one helped him to his feet. Two feet, human style.

The dark one kissed the one like Ray. "Coffee," he said.

"Asshole," said the one like Ray again, and they hobbled off together, bickering.

Dief went back to the car and licked Ray's face until he woke up. They had to find Fraser and get smelly ointment on his leg before it got infected. Ray woke reluctantly, like his dreams were good. "Dief?" he said, when he blinked awake.

Dief licked his ear hello, then cocked his head and said, _Fraser?_

Ray understood him this time. "Yeah," he said, and got carefully out of the car, looking around for the wolves. He didn't understand when Dief told him they were already gone.

***

"Ray!" On the C Deck, Fraser saw them from some distance off, then noticed Dief's limp. "Dief! Are you all right?"

Dief whined and turned sideways a little so Fraser could see his swollen, bloody leg.

"He saved me from some wolves on the vehicle deck," said Ray. "Where'd you go, Fraser? I went looking for you, but I—?"

"Ray?" Fraser looked at him wonderingly, and seemed to forget about Dief for a second. Dief whuffled pathetically to remind him. "Yes, I'm sorry. We'll take you to the ship's doctor right now. Can you walk?"

Dief lay down at once, and Fraser picked him up, not caring that it got blood on his shirt, and carried him to Dr. Kevorkian.

On the way, Dief could see Fraser wondering (in between worrying about Dief) if this was _his_ Ray. It was a very confusing ship, with many people who looked and smelled (and sometimes acted) like Ray, but Dief was sure this was the right one for Fraser. Anyway, that was something they could sort out once Dief's wounds had been tended to.

Dr. Kevorkian frowned at Dief's leg, and immediately gave him an injection that made the world wobbly. When it came right again, Dief's leg was in plaster and his other cuts were stinging but clean. He smelled sharp and antiseptic, not like Fraser's ointment at all. He didn't hurt as much as before, though.

"I'm going to have to keep you in overnight," said the Doctor, "to make sure you don't react to the sedatives."

Dief gave him a considering look.

"I prescribe a full course of donuts," said the Doctor with a wink.

Dief agreed to be kept in overnight.

Dr. Kevorkian let Fraser and Ray come in from the waiting room. "That was foolhardy in the extreme," said Fraser, which was how Dief knew that everything was all right.

"Thanks, Buddy," said Ray. "Without you, I'd've been dog food back there." He ruffled behind Dief's ear.

 _He's your Ray,_ Dief told Fraser.

Fraser went very still "How can you be sure?"

Dief nosed Ray's bare wrist, and Fraser's eyes widened. He dug in his pocket, and pulled out a simple chain that smelled of metal and Ray.

"I, ah, I believe this is yours," Fraser told Ray.

Ray gave him a smile. "Yeah, I was wondering where that'd gotten to." He kissed Fraser on the mouth.

 _Donut?_ Dief prompted Fraser, hopefully.

"We'll have to ask your doctor," said Fraser. "But if not now, then yes, when you're better, you may have a donut."

"A dozen donuts," corrected Ray.

Dief yawned and lay down to rest. It was good that Ray was back.


End file.
